Beit Nekofa

Beit Nekofa (Hebrew: בֵּית נְקוֹפָה) is a moshav in the Jerusalem District of Israel. Located in the Jerusalem Corridor, about 10 km west of central Jerusalem, next to Highway 1 and the Hemed Interchange, between Mevaseret Zion and Kiryat Ye'arim, south of Kiryat Anavim,[2] it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 758.[1]

Beit Nekofa
Beit Nekofa
בֵּית נְקוֹפָה‎
بيت نكوفا
Beit Nekofa is located in Jerusalem
Beit Nekofa
Beit Nekofa
Beit Nekofa is located in Israel
Beit Nekofa
Beit Nekofa
Coordinates: 31°48′10″N 35°7′31″E
Country Israel
DistrictJerusalem
CouncilMateh Yehuda
AffiliationMoshavim Movement
FoundedAugust 1949
Founded byYugoslav Jews
Population
 (2021)
758[1]

Etymology
Bronze foundry at Beit Nekofa

Beit Nekofa's name may be based on the name of an ancient town, Nukveta (Hebrew: נוּקְבְתָא) of Benjamin, mentioned in the Talmud, from which the ancestors of Rabbi Judah haNasi are said to have come from. Nukveta is from the Hebrew word נִקְבָּה‎, Nikba, or tunnel.[3]

According to Zev Vilnay, Beit Nekofa was mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud as the place of residence of a family of Kohanim. The Hebrew root of the name is Nakaf (נ-ק-פ‎, taken from Isaiah 17:6), referring to the collection of olives by means of hitting the tree, as opposed to harvest by hand (the Hebrew root Masak).[4]

In Arabic, Naqb means (mountain) passage. An Arab village, Bayt Naqquba, existed in the same location until the 1948 Arab–Israeli War when the area came under Israeli control and the villagers were expelled. After the end of the war, the residents were not allowed to return to their village, but they were allowed later, in 1962, to establish a new village, Ein Naqquba, on the opposite side of Highway 1.[3][4][5]

History
The historical village lands of Beit Naqquba as shown in this 1940s Survey of Palestine map; the village was depopulated in 1948 (its inhabitants returning to create Ein Naqquba in 1962) and was replaced by Beit Nekofa.

Beit Nekofa was founded in August 1949 by seven families who immigrated to Israel from Yugoslavia. The Neveh Ilan-Beit Nekofa area was devastated by fire in the summer of 1996.[6] Two thousand dunams of forest and dozens of buildings in Kiryat Anavim and Beit Nekofa were destroyed or damaged in the blaze.[7]

Beit Nekofa runs a bronze foundry that employs many Arabs from the surrounding villages.[8]

  • The lower, southern part of Beit Nekofa
    The lower, southern part of Beit Nekofa
  • The upper, northern part of Beit Nekofa
    The upper, northern part of Beit Nekofa

References
  1. "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  2. Gold Atlas (Map) (2009 ed.). 1:100,000 (in Hebrew). Mapa. p. 32. § Het18. ISBN 965-521-082-0.
  3. HaReuveni, Immanuel (1999). Lexicon of the Land of Israel (in Hebrew). Miskal - Yedioth Ahronoth Books and Chemed Books. p. 126. ISBN 965-448-413-7.
  4. Vilnai, Ze'ev (1976). "Beit Nekofa". Ariel Encyclopedia (in Hebrew). Vol. 1. Tel Aviv, Israel: Am Oved. p. 778.
  5. Morris, Benny (1994). 1948 and After: Israel and the Palestinians (2nd ed.). Clarendon Press. pp. 257-289. ISBN 9780198279297.
  6. MKs salute the trees The Jerusalem Post, 22 January 1997
  7. Report exonerates Fire Dep't The Jerusalem Post, 9 September 1996
  8. Give and Take The Jerusalem Post, 17 August 2001
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